Shining a light on Priestley’s chapter in Hollywood
Bid to unearth more details on master dramatist’s ‘hack work’ in US as film gets anniversary screening
HE WAS the most feted dramatist of his day, a father figure who did more than anyone except Churchill to comfort the nation in time of war. But only now are the cobwebs being blown off the forgotten legacy JB Priestley left to Hollywood.
Bradford’s greatest son thought the scripts he turned out for the big film studios in the 1930s, to help pay his wife’s health bills, were beneath him.
In fact, according to one expert, they may have made him the true father of the modern horror film, and influenced countless other genres.
But because he nearly always refused an on-screen credit, the extent of his input may never be known.
“The truth may be hidden away in a box in a dusty studio archive somewhere,” said Bill Lawrence, a film historian, who is behind a 90th anniversary screening of one of Priestley’s better-known films in Yorkshire next weekend.
The 1957 musical version of The Good Companions, the novel that established him as a national figure in 1929, is being shown in Halifax, the home town of its star, the Shakespearean actor, Eric Portman.
The book was filmed twice and later adapted into a series by Yorkshire Television.
But it was the first screen incarnation, starring John Gielgud and Jessie Matthews in 1933, that brought Priestley to Hollywood’s attention.
“It’s a measure of his stature that he was asked to write for Gracie Fields, the biggest
star of her day,” said Mr Lawrence.
Priestley co-wrote her biggest hit, the morale-boosting depression-era musical, Sing As We Go. But when he crossed the Atlantic, he assumed a lower profile.
Wintering on a ranch in Arizona, where the climate suited his second wife, Jane Wyndham-Lewis, he took on work for the film studios over the border in California.
“He just regarded it as hack work, frankly,” said Michael Nelson, of the JB Priestley Society in Yorkshire.
“He needed to support his wife and children, so he would go over to Hollywood and pick up script work on a freelance basis – on the understanding that he wouldn’t be listed in the credits because he wanted to preserve his reputation as a superior dramatist.”
Back in the UK, his name untarnished by his brush with American popular culture, he began to be held in even higher esteem when he began broadcasting a series of “fireside chats” on the radio which were widely credited with strengthening morale during the Battle of Britain.
Priestley’s presence in Hollywood was not a secret – his meetings with Groucho Marx, Charles Chaplin and others are documented.
But with one exception – a 1936 Carole Lombard vehicle
Priestley’s contribution to cinema is often overlooked.
Bill Lawrence, former head of film at the National Science and Media Museum.
called The Princess Comes Across – the films he wrote are not.
“It’s quite tantalising. Priestley mentioned a few producers but his papers don’t tell us which studios he worked for,” Mr Nelson said.
“Given Hollywood’s output in the 1930s it would be nearly impossible to discover everything he did.”
But Mr Lawrence, a former head of film at Bradford’s National Science and Media Museum, said it was clear that his influence extended far beyond his signature works.
“Priestley is one of the major literary figures of the 20th century but his contribution to cinema is often overlooked,” he said.
“But the more I looked into him, the more I was intrigued by his position right across the board, culturally.
“His involvement goes right back to his 1927 novella, Benighted, which became the film, The Old Dark House.
“That started a whole new horror genre of strangers seeking shelter in an isolated house full of strange people.
“It’s really the basis for The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
Priestley’s archive continues to be raided for film and TV.
Last Holiday, his 1950 comedy starring Alec Guinness, was remade in 2006 with the American actress, Queen Latifah. And an episode of the BBC’s Doctor Who last year was “based on an original idea” by him.
IT IS many years since theatrical types have considered JB Priestley’s work to be in vogue, although the National Theatre’s adaptation of An Inspector Calls in the 1990s went some way towards resurrecting his reputation.
But the revelation of his uncredited influence on Hollywood reminds us just how important to modern culture this son of Bradford really was. He may indeed have invented the modern horror genre, we learn.
It is rare to find Priestley’s wider body of work on the national curriculum. As a result, it remains hidden from many young people. It deserves a wider audience.
In particular, English Journey, his 1934 travelogue, is one of the most important treatises on the effect of the First World War upon the following generation. Its lessons still resonate today.
The fact that 35 years after his death, his life continues to fascinate us, speaks volumes in itself.
We have the JB Priestley Society to thank for keeping his flame alive, and long may they continue to do so.